Understanding a Swim Meet
A few facts about high school swim meets:
- A meet is composed of 12 events.
- One length of the pool is 25 yards (all other countries outside of the United States swim in meters).
- There are 4 competitive strokes: freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly.
- A swimmer may enter a maximum of 4 events at a dual meet. If a swimmer enters 4 events, no more than 2 can be individual events (e.g. 2 individual events and 2 relays; or, 3 relays and 1 individual event).
- Each team may enter three swimmers for team points in each individual event.
- For relays, only the top 3 relay finishers score points toward the overall meet score.
- At championship meets (Macomb County Championships, MAC Gold Championships, etc.), there are typically two or three officials
Order of Events
Every dual meet and championship meet will follow this order. Sometimes, there is more than one heat of each race.
- 200 Medley Relay - each swimmer swims 50 yards of a different stroke (backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle)
- 200 freestyle - 8 lengths of the pool
- 200 Individual Medley - two lengths of each stroke (butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle)
- 50 freestyle - 2 lengths of the pool
- Diving - Each diver completes 6 dives
- 100 Butterfly - 4 lengths butterfly
- 100 Freestyle - 4 lengths freestyle
- 500 Freestyle - 20 lengths freestyle (these swimmers have a counter to help them keep track of their laps)
- 200 Freestyle Relay - each swimmer completes a 50 freestyle
- 100 Backstroke - 4 lengths backstroke
- 100 Breaststroke - 4 lengths breaststroke
- 400 Freestyle Relay - Each swimmer completes 4 lengths freestyle
Understanding & Enjoying Diving
As is the case with any form of athletic competition, some basic knowledge on the fundamentals of the sport will increase one's pleasure while viewing the activity. This is especially true with diving.
The job of the diver is to keep her feet and legs pressed together while spinning and twisting at approximately 50 miles per hour. While she is accomplishing this feat, she is also being judged on her initiation into the dive as well as any deviation she makes from the accepted form and position.
Along with flawless execution, she is expected to stand straight, walk forcefully, and dive with determination. Since her entry into the water is the last thing judges see, it too must be beyond reproach with little or no splash. About this time, the diving official and all judges simultaneously communicate their judgment of the dive to the scoring table. Each judge may award 0 to 10 points. The judges' scores are added together and then multiplied by the "degree of difficulty," or D.D., of the dive. The degree of difficulty is a number assigned to each dive. A low number is associated with an easy dive, and a high number is assigned to more difficult dives. When the degree of difficulty is multiplied by the judges' scores, the total score is the result.
A diver must perform 6 dives with a required dive for all divers and progressing to five more dives of her choice. There are five categories of dives: front, back, reverse, inward, and twisting. These can be performed in one of four positions: tuck, pike, straight, and free.
The job of the diver is to keep her feet and legs pressed together while spinning and twisting at approximately 50 miles per hour. While she is accomplishing this feat, she is also being judged on her initiation into the dive as well as any deviation she makes from the accepted form and position.
Along with flawless execution, she is expected to stand straight, walk forcefully, and dive with determination. Since her entry into the water is the last thing judges see, it too must be beyond reproach with little or no splash. About this time, the diving official and all judges simultaneously communicate their judgment of the dive to the scoring table. Each judge may award 0 to 10 points. The judges' scores are added together and then multiplied by the "degree of difficulty," or D.D., of the dive. The degree of difficulty is a number assigned to each dive. A low number is associated with an easy dive, and a high number is assigned to more difficult dives. When the degree of difficulty is multiplied by the judges' scores, the total score is the result.
A diver must perform 6 dives with a required dive for all divers and progressing to five more dives of her choice. There are five categories of dives: front, back, reverse, inward, and twisting. These can be performed in one of four positions: tuck, pike, straight, and free.